The MediaTek MT6589 is currently being incorporated into smart devices by MediaTek?s global customers, and the first models based on this new chipset are expected to ship commercially in Q1 2013.

MediaTek's quad-core SoC is being positioned to compete with Qualcomm, which announced last week two new quad-core chips, similarly integrated with a modem that works with UMTS, CDMA and TD-SCDMA. But Qualcomm's chip won't be available commercially until well into next year.